Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to tubs such as bathtubs in which controllable lights are provided to illuminate the water with differing colors.
The presence or absence of light, and in particular colored light, is known to influence a person""s mood at the time of the exposure. Over extended periods the presence or absence of such light may also have effects on physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well-being. In this regard, military personnel who are temporarily assigned to military bases near the Arctic Circle have shown marked increases in the incidence of depression during winters, absent exposure to artificial sources of light.
There are also those who believe that the differing frequencies of different colors may affect particular biological functions (e.g. the vibration of certain cells of the human body and thus certain biorhythmic functions) on more than a transitory basis. For example, some believe that when a human is exposed to prolonged red light that person""s blood pressure will be higher even after the exposure, and the opposite will occur when the exposure is to a prolonged blue light.
Chromatherapy (the exposure of a human to colored light) has therefore been proposed for use to provide at least some relief for visual maladies, headaches, stress, anxiety, mental fatigue and depression. Some spas and holistic treatment centers even provide chromatherapy as a separate service or in conjunction with other treatments, such as facials, massage, acupuncture and treated baths.
Chromatherapy may be conducted in a room painted or illuminated with a particular color. However, another approach of increasing interest is to conduct chromatherapy by illuminating tub water with particular color or colors of light.
U.S. Pat. No. 885,441 discloses an early attempt at illuminating a pool with colored light, primarily for enhancing the aesthetic appearance of the pool. This early patent discloses a tank structure with slots beneath the floor in which were disposed ordinary incandescent lights mounted to removable slides located beneath glass windows in the floor of the tank. Another light was mounted over another window covered by a colored transparent film to illuminate the water with colored light. The inside surfaces of the tank were covered with luminous paint or other phosphorescent substance.
Small bathtubs have been devised having lighting systems for illuminating the bath water with particular color light. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,489 discloses a decorative bathtub with a transparent floor that was illuminated by white or colored light by a lamp mounted below the floor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,908 patent discloses a bath having multiple overhead and in-floor metal halide lamps emitting ultraviolet light rays.
A more recent bathtub chromatherapy system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/633,400, filed Aug. 7, 2000 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This application and the above mentioned patent are incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth herein. The disclosed bathtub chromatherapy system uses a central incandescent light source and motorized color filter wheel to generate colored or white light directed to the end of a fiber optic bundle. Fiber optic cables carry the light to refractive lenses positioned at openings in the tub to illuminate the water. Desired colors can be selected and maintained or the colors can be automatically cycled.
While this system provides an enhanced chemotherapeutic bathing experience, it requires a rather complex motorized color wheel. Moreover, the incandescent bulb will eventually burn out and need to be replaced. This can be a problem if the tub is built into a tiled-in enclosure island with limited access to the tub bottom.
Thus, it can be seen that a need still exists for improved bathtub chromatherapy systems.
In one aspect the invention provides a lighting system for a tub containing a liquid. There is a first light emitting diode generating a first color light, a second light emitting diode generating a second color light, a control unit controlling the operation of the light emitting diodes, and a concave surface. The first and second light emitting diodes are positioned relative to the concave surface so as to be able to project the first and second color lights on the surface such that the surface reflects the lights in a mixed fashion.
In preferred forms the concave surface is on a surface of an inner bore of an elbow housing, the first and second light emitting diodes are positioned adjacent one end of the elbow housing, and a lens is positioned adjacent an opposite end of the housing. There can be even more such light emitting diodes, each of which projects light on the concave surface. In fact, there can be so many varied light colors that the mixed light can be white light when all are on, and alternatively at least one non-white light when less than all are on.
In other forms the light emitting diodes are positioned adjacent an inlet end of the elbow housing and the lens is attached to an outlet end of the elbow housing, and the inlet and outlet ends are perpendicular to each other. A cap is connectible to the elbow housing. The cap houses a circuit board to which the light emitting diodes are connected, and preferably also at least part of the light emitting diodes.
In another aspect there is also a tub with which the lighting system is used. The lens is mounted against an inner wall of the tub, and the elbow housing is mounted against an outer wall of the tub. In especially preferred forms there are a plurality of such elbow housings and lenses mounted through openings in the tub basin. For example, one unit can be mounted at the foot of the tub, and the other adjacent a back rest.
The system is particularly useful for chromatherapy applications such as in connection with a bathtub (e.g. especially a whirlpool). However, it may also be used for decorative purposes such as in connection with ornamental fountains.
The invention provides a compact light fixture operable by a control unit to selectively illuminate water in a tub with colored and/or white light. Because LEDs are used to generate the light, the light fixture is easy to maintain and requires little service. The concave reflecting surface provides an effective way of blending the colored light such that the resulting color at any given time is a single color, without striations.
Thus, depending on the desired effect, the water can be illuminated with soothing colors, such as pastels, or vibrant colors, such as primary colors. The light fixtures themselves are compact, light-weight and easily mountable to the tub walls without enlarging the overall dimensions of the tub.
These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings.